Bridesmaids
by uptightcrankyshadownet
Summary: Alex's in love with her brother Owen's best friend, Nikita. Idea taken from Sassassin. T for mild swearing.


As long as Alex had known, Nikita Mears from the other side of the fence hadn't just been her brother's best friend- but part of the family. Her fuzzy childhood memories consisted of Owen and Nikita bundling her up in her favourite fleece jacket and taking her out into the playground after a snowfall, having breakfast together on the back porch all the time, innumerable sleepovers where she'd slept in between Owen and Nikita on the queen-sized bed. She'd idolized and adored Nikita from her young age- the girl with pretty good grades in school, who learns jujitsu, who always has a smile on her face, willing to help, listen, advise. Even though they'd got seven years between them, Nikita had always been there for Alex as long as she could remember, never writing her frustrations off as the whining of Owen's kid sister who didn't know what was going on with the world. She'd been a friend, a confidante, a sister, a mentor.

She'd had her first kiss at twelve at the start of semester with the pretty girl sitting beside her at the back of the classroom, who'd wanted to see what all the fuss on her parents' rom-coms had been about. They'd been mere children, worldly and innocent; the kiss had been brief and chaste, quickly forgotten, had meant nothing, and Alex could no longer remember the girl's name or face. But what she did remember was how, when her classmate's lips had touched hers, she'd wanted her to be Nikita- the tall, lanky teenager who'd blossomed into a beautiful young woman that Alex had fallen for.

After that, things had begun to change. It began to hurt much, much more when Owen and Nikita hopped into Nikita's trusty Ford Winstar and drove off to malls, bars and clubs with her staring wistfully out of the second-floor window, watching as the vehicle disappeared onto the main road. She'd tried to concentrate on homework, on her revision, and her mind would end up drifting to what Owen and Nikita were doing, whether they were... together. For a twelve-going-on-thirteen year old, that had felt like the breath was ripped from her lungs every time she'd thought about it. It was made worse, knowing that she'd probably never have a chance with Nikita. Why would a gorgeous nineteen-year-old with admirers from every direction pick... her best friend's sister?

After Owen's twenty-first birthday party in the front yard, a celebration where Alex had mostly stayed inside the house and picked at a pizza while Owen's rambunctious friends had fun outdoors, her brother had sat down beside her while she played Wii games at one in the morning and put an arm around her. "I'm not dating Niki, you know. I'm dating Emily. You know, the girl in my Bio class?"

"I don't care," Alex had snapped tersely, swinging the console viciously. "Go away."

Owen had smirked knowingly. "Look, I _know _you've got it bad for my best friend. It's obvious. I can put in a good word for you."

Alex'd grabbed the second-person controller on the sofa and clocked her brother lightly on the head. "Don't you dare, Owen."

"Alex." His voice had turned serious. "If you really like her, then tell her. You won't have forever. You're my sister; I want you to be happy. You never know if she'll say yes and reciprocate until you tell her. Don't look back in twenty years and regret it."

"Whatever."

"I'll always be there for you." He'd patted her shoulder and gone back out to clean up, leaving Alex to ruminate over what he'd said.

She hadn't acted. Not til much later.

Seven years on, Owen had driven up to the curb, he and Emily had gotten out and he'd simply raised her left hand in his in front of the living room.

They'd all stayed silent, unable to figure out what he'd meant, until Nikita had gasped and started laughing. "You got engaged!" She'd pointed at the ring on Emily's finger, gesturing to the siblings' parents.

The house had descended into chaos, tears and screams of congratulations and disbelief. Owen had grinned at Alex and Nikita before saying, "Alex and Niki are going to be the bridesmaids."

And then Alex's heart had stopped.

The next months had been a flurry of activity. Alex had been amazed at how the two sets of parents had possibly planned a wedding that fast, and she couldn't say she hadn't enjoyed accompanying Emily- and more importantly Nikita- to try on dresses at every store they had been able to scout out. The jade-green bridesmaid dresses had been breathtaking, wedding planning, invitations, location scouting and everything else that had to be worked out for a park wedding had been completed, and today had finally come. Alex smoothed the creases in the dress out and checked herself in the mirror one final time, trying to calm herself down. "It's going to be okay," She said aloud.

"Of course it is, we just have to make sure Em looks pretty and then we can sit down and enjoy the good food and wine." Nikita's familiar voice made Alex feel a lot calmer. The older woman came over and rested one arm around her friend. "We've come so far, haven't we."

Alex grinned weakly, unable to stop her heart racing and the flush from lighting her face. "Yeah, we all have."

"Alex," Nikita said quietly, staring straight into the mirror. "Owen told me."

"Told you... what?"

"How you feel about me."

"That asshole." Alex automatically swore, thumping her fist against the makeup table, then stopped abruptly when she saw Nikita wasn't smiling and didn't look entertained. "Hey... I'm sorry. I told him not to-" She was interrupted when Nikita raised one hand, pausing in mid-air before coming to rest on Alex's cheek, with that look in her eyes. "You don't have to be sorry."

Alex swallowed against the lump in her throat, feeling the dull ache worm its way back into her heart. "Nikita, I-"

"I don't care about the age gap. I don't care that you're Owen's younger sister. I don't care how or why this happened." Nikita heaved a sigh and stared at Alex. "I just want to know if you're in love with me."

The tears began to blur Alex's vision as she forced a soft 'yes' past her lips.

Nikita had taken a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. "Good."

The first kiss was short and innocent and took Alex back to her childhood, then Nikita had hissed, once, and the following kiss wasn't as brief or as chaste. A faint moan had torn itself from deep within Alex, a sound that signified everything she wanted to say. _Yes. Finally. You're beautiful._

_I love you._

"Um," Someone cleared his throat from behind them. "Look, I think it's nice that my ship is canon and all, but Dad said I need my makeup done."

Nikita and Alex broke apart, glaring at the embarrassed bridegroom behind them. "Owen!"

A wicked glint had lit up his eyes. "I'll get Mum and Dad out of the house if you want to... you know, make some noise tonight."

Alex rolled her eyes in exasperation, but she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. "Owen, you're a prick."

"Yup," He sat in the chair, closed his eyes and got ready to get his makeup touched up. "It worked, didn't it?"

Nikita gazed at Alex from the other side of the room where she was getting foundation, and grinned. "Yeah," Their eyes met. "It did."


End file.
